I just don't see how people can be more productive at home, maybe if they work in isolation. But my experience is that a culture of very interactive programming with team members solves problems fast and you can make light year jumps. Taking a project from a week into a day with two hands on it. That kind of thing works great in person. And it doesn't just benefit junior devs, but also srs who collaborate better.

I think people are afraid of pair programming and it's very weird, as I love it. I do it a lot on zoom but it's not as good as in person.